The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday recommended that healthy persons get one dose of the newest COVID-19 vaccination yearly, similar to the influenza vaccination campaign.
The FDA proposal, which aims to simplify the US COVID-19 vaccine approach, was included in briefing materials sent by the FDA before Thursday's meeting with its panel of external advisors, as per a Reuters report.
The agency has also requested the panel to examine two US COVID-19 vaccination doses yearly for select young children, elderly adults, and those with weakened immunity.
The FDA also asked its experts about the requirement for regular variant selection to upgrade the vaccine, comparable to how flu vaccine strains evolve. Following last month's announcement, the agency's revised proposal was anticipated.
The new strategy states that most people should only get the most recent US COVID-19 vaccination every fall, like the flu shot. Per NPR, they wouldn't have to track how many shots they've had or when.
Each spring, vaccine producers would strive to match the yearly dose to the prevailing variety of the following winter. The flu vaccine is manufactured every year.
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US COVID-19 Cases Dropping There's Still Risk
The most recent estimate from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted that the Omicron XBB.1.5 subvariant makes up about half of all new COVID-19 cases in the United States, according to NHK World.
As of Tuesday past week, the daily average number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in the United States had dropped to over 4,800, representing a decrease of almost 20% from the previous week.
According to the World Health Organization, XBB.1.5 has more immune-evasive traits than other Omicron variants, and as a result, these traits may lead to a rise in infections globally.
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